The present standardization of pallets used in the unit-load method of assembling, stacking, storing, handling, and transporting materials and products originated from the interconnecting nature of pallet usage. The great variety of pallet sizes and constructions that previously existed restricted their movement through manufacturing and distribution channels. This variety was the result of each pallet constructor and user treating pallet design and use as an individual problem to be best solved by locally-expeditious means. In time, a more comprehensive application of the unit-load method of assembling, stacking, storing, handling, and transporting of commodities in domestic and international trade developed. Through evolution, some industries and military services have developed certain pallet standards to solve specific problems which are also existent with other users. Consequently, the resulting uniformity in construction of pallets established a pattern of value to all users.
As is well known, a pallet is customarily constructed of two courses of deck boards held in two parallel planes by parallel girder members, stringers, or runners in which the space provided between the two courses of deck boards is adapted to receive the forks of a lifting device. The lower deckboard is frequently referred to as a "footboard". The material most commonly used for constructing pallets for forklift use is lumber. However, lumber is not entirely satisfactory because of certain natural deficiencies, such as the limitation of natural resources, unstable supply, poor chemical resistance, ability to harbor and support vermin, fungus, and pathogens, and the necessarily-complicated manufacturing methods employed to produce dimensioned lumber and fabricated pallets. Metal and many forms of polymer or plastic pallets are also available. However, these have generally been single piece moldings or fabrications of complex design which have been expensive to produce.
The pallet(s) of the present invention may be used in full harmonious compatibility with wooden-constructed pallets as exist in present commerce. In applications where the transportation, handling, and storage systems have evolved to be specifically adapted for the standardized wood pallet dimension and performance characteristics, the pallet(s) of the present invention will equal or exceed all known service requirements. In industries such as food products, personal hygiene, fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, printing, and others, where high standards of cleanliness and uniformity must be met, the pallet(s) of the present invention will excel.
Pallets of innumerable types, sizes and configurations have been known in the art. However, few are considered a dimensional and service replacement for the industry-accepted standard wood pallet design, and none of the pallets known to be available in the prior art have the advantages and features of the pallet of the present invention.
Searches were conducted in USPTO Class 108, Subclasses 52.1, 56.1, 901, and 902. The following issued U.S. patents may be considered to have some relevance to the present invention: U.S. Pat. No. 1,612,382 Lehman; U.S. Pat. No. 2,501,506 George; U.S. Pat. No. 3,654,877 Barrett; U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,796 Morrison; U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,948 Judy et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,722 Friesner et al. None of the patents found in the search disclosed the type of pallet provided according to the present invention or any of the numerous significant advantageous features thereof. The same is to be said of the prior U.S. patents of Morgan, namely, U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,776 and 5,058,746, which are of a different type and intended for more complex containerization use.